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The soft side of Nick Fairley: Ben Roethlisberger's not going to see it

nfl roundup 9-29.zip

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley runs into the end zone for a touchdown after recovering a fumble by Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler during an NFL game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. (AP Photo)

On Monday, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley will be one of the hosts for the third annual Lions Den Dinner at Covenant House Michigan in Detroit. It's a pre-Thanksgiving event that Fairley's been a part of since becoming a pro. He helps serve meals to the residents, then spends some time with the 75 or so homeless young people who might be at Covenant House at any time.

"I look forward to this event every year," the former Williamson High School star said. "I get an opportunity to interact with these kids on a one-on-one basis, which is exciting for them, but so rewarding for me."

Now does that sound like a player who's part of the "Dirty Duo?"

Yet that's what the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette labeled Fairley, a former Auburn standout, and fellow Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in an advance of Sunday's noon game between the Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Suh is the most-fined player in the NFL. Fairley was fined $15,750 by the NFL for throwing Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown to the ground after he'd released a pass last week.

Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley said Suh and Fairley are the kind of players you hate unless they're on your team.

"That's their demeanor, and that's the way they play," Haley said. "Those are the types of players you'd love to have on your team, but you don't like them when they're on another team.

"I've got to give all due respect to how they play and how hard (they play). They're like any kind of good, nasty defense. They're going to push it to the limit."

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had another take on it.

"You'll end up dead if you're not careful," Roethlisberger told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "That's a great D-line and defense. I tell myself all the time to be alert for those things. But when the bullets start flying, who knows what's going to happen?"

That's a little extreme, Fairley said.

"I wouldn't say 'kill' someone," he said. "If we stay alive in our rushes, then sooner or later we're going to get there."

Roethlisberger has the reputation of a quarterback who will hold the ball longer to try to make a play. He's been sacked 35 times this season, more than any quarterback in the NFL except the Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill. He's headed for his sixth season with at least 40 sacks in the past nine years.

"Most times, quarterbacks are getting it out in two seconds, three seconds," Fairley told the AP. "When you get a quarterback that holds the ball four or five seconds, as a D-lineman, you look for that, because you know it keeps you alive in the rush."

But getting to Roethlisberger and tackling the 6-foot-5, 241-pound quarterback is another matter.

"One guy is not going to bring him down. We've seen that," Fairley said. "He spins out of moves. He shakes guys off of him. He's really just a big, strong quarterback that stays alive."

While the Lions are drawing both raves and criticism for the play of their defensive front, only three NFL teams have fewer sacks than Detroit's 15.

Fairley got one of those sacks immediately after being called for roughing McCown, which aided Chicago on its final drive. After the Bears scored on that series with 40 seconds to play, Fairley burst into the Chicago backfield to smother running back Matt Forte on the 2-point conversion attempt, preserving the Lions' 21-19 victory.

That feast-or-famine performance on one Chicago series was a window on what Fairley has produced for Detroit this season. But the Lions don't want consistent inconsistency. They want to see Fairley performing at the level he did in a five-game stretch last season when he produced 23 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles.

"I think he's trending that way," Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said on Monday. "He played really well during that stretch last year. I think he still has a ways to go to get back to that level.

"He still has been inconsistent. He played very well in spurts. I think that was encouraging, but there has also been some inconsistency."

"I think any young player is going to deal with inconsistencies," Schwartz said. "I don't really mean it as a negative toward Nick. It's just sort of where he is in his career. There're a lot of players that deal with inconsistencies and things like that. It doesn't have any reflection of their effort and their preparation and things like that.

"Every player from Calvin Johnson to Matt Stafford, they're all trying to work on being consistent and things like that. I was just trying to be honest in the assessment. He has been very good at times, and other times there's things that he still needs to work on, things he needs to do better."

Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin is expecting to see the best - or perhaps worst - of Fairley and Suh.

"On defense, they wreak havoc with their men up front," Tomlin said. "They play a lot of people, but obviously it starts with 90 (Suh) and 98 (Fairley) in terms of the havoc that they create in the middle of pockets."

At 6-3, the Lions lead the NFC North by one game over the Bears and Green Bay Packers. At 3-6, the Steelers are last in the AFC North.

Suh and Fairley are teammates on the Lions and now share a nickname, but they might wind up as opponents on the basketball court. Suh attended the Michigan State-Kentucky basketball game on Tuesday night and noted he'd played basketball in high school.

"If I was 6-foot-7, I don't know if I'd be playing football right now," Suh said.

Fairley was a member of the 2006-07 Class 5A All-State basketball team while playing for Williamson. He said he was the best basketball player on the Lions and had been talking to Suh about playing one-on-one since he'd joined the team.